Kiss of a Demon King

tonight. Romantic even.

'Someone help them!'

With an irritated exhalation, Sabine worked her way to her feet, then butted her head against the tent flap to exit. She might as well watch the show-

Her lips parted. A crimson-scaled basilisk was chas­ing demons all over the place, swatting tents up into the

air. Its enormous tail pummeled the ground as it roared. The sound drummed in her ears and shook the night.

Sabine's guard was gone, convening with others, who looked like they planned to attack it.

The dragon cornered a group in a canyon pocket, tensing to pounce, its forked tongue darting into the air.

When it finished with that course, Sabine would be a sitting duck, tied to a stake-with no guard! While Rydstrom was out playing Romeo with the twit.

She caught sight of a noblewoman, a demoness in Durinda's clique who'd turned her nose up at Sabine. She was running back and forth talking to herself.

'Hey, demon lady person,' Sabine called. 'If you untie me, I can save them all with my goddesslike powers.'

She slowed, hesitating, wringing her hands.

Hand-wringing and pacing, Sabine thought in disgust. Repetitive actions-way to take action, woman! 'Do you want them to die?'

'Th-the males are defending the females and chil­dren.' Demons with torches were preparing to rush the beast. 'They will save us-'

'Thanks. I think I just vomited a little in my mouth.' This society needed to be rewritten-completely! 'The torches those guys are planning to use to scare him away will do nothing but make him feel friskier. So, the ties . . .' She twisted around and held up her bound wrists.

'If I freed you, King Rydstrom would be incensed-'

'Well, he's not here now, is he?' * * *

'Your mind is occupied with other things,' Durinda said quietly to Rydstrom. After a successful hunt, they'd slowed their lathered horses on the way back.

'I apologize,' he told Durinda. 'I've much to mull over just now.' He couldn't stop recalling earlier when Sabine had gazed up at him with those amber eyes. She'd been merry, having fun, teasing him ...

Yet another facet of her.

Learning about Sabine was exactly like arranging jigsaw pieces-sometimes they didn't fit.

For instance, she was a female who killed viciously, and yet she'd befriended-in her own way-a friendless demon boy. She was a sorceress who was so cold and hard that she kept a woman's tongue in a jar, but she'd begun turning to Rydstrom trustingly in sleep, nuzzling his chest.

He'd decided that Sabine needed someone to always be there to soothe her nightmares, the ones he'd wit­ nessed. By the gods, he would be that man.

'Your thoughts are filled with the sorceress.'

'Among other things.' His musings weren't only on Sabine. What she'd told him about Cadeon-if true, and he suspected it was-meant that he had to rethink nine centuries of strife.

And now Cadeon was making him proud, pursu­ing that sword. But could he really turn Holly, his true mate, over to Groot? If Cadeon did, he'd hate Rydstrom forever.

'Sabine is clearly more than a concubine to you,' Durinda said.

Rydstrom didn't deny it. 'She's my female.'

'You ... you attempted her?'

He nodded sharply, not liking her tone.

'I had wanted-and expected-so much better for you,' she said in her halting way. 'In fact, I don't see how it could get worse.'

Rydstrom didn't either. He'd never met anyone as self-absorbed as Sabine. She lied, stole, cheated, and killed. Aside from Puck, every one of his subjects loathed her.

And I'm still falling for her. He couldn't help it-each time she clutched at him for comfort from a nightmare, or revealed glimpses of her sly sense of humor, his feel' ings for her grew. 'It isn't like I had any choice in the matter.'

'Why do you keep her bound in your tent?'

'She would likely run from me at the first chance.' Even if Sabine was becoming more attracted to him, growing to trust him somewhat, she belonged to a dif­ferent world-one in which she was rewarded for all her vices. A world he was certain she wanted to return to.

Durinda said, 'You can't keep her tied up forever.'

'I'm hoping once we get off-plane I can win her affection.' If she's even capable of it. No, she had to be.

'I just can't believe with all the demon females you attempted, you could never find one among our own kind.'

'No, it didn't happen. And not from lack of trying.' He gave a humorless laugh. 'Just be glad you weren't among them.'

A pause, then: 'Rydstrom, I-I was.'

34

'You can save them?' the hand-wringing woman said. At Sabine's earnest nod, she finally freed her hands and untied her ankle.

Sabine massaged her wrists with a mean smile. Idiot! At once, she stripped off the ridiculous blouse but left the corset, using her power to make it look like a metal breastplate. She imagined a bold headdress and collar, weaving the image over her, then used illusions to paint her face and plait her hair.

'Sabine, you must hurry!'

'Must I?' She stalked up to the woman. 'Don't you ever call me by my given name again! I'm Rydstrom's queen-your queen. We're married whether he wants to admit it or not.' She started away from the commotion, saying over her shoulder, 'All the best with that.'

The demoness hurried after her, with her eyes water­ing. 'B-but you said . . .'

'Look, is it really my place to save the lives of people stupid enough to run into a canyon and get cornered by

a dragon? Yes, I'm egotistical, but who am I to challenge natural selection?' It wasn't her fight-

'Ai-bee!' a small voice echoed in the distance.

Sabine stilled. Puck was among the trapped demons. The little punk, who didn't have the sense not to be dragon food, had just called her name.

Which meant he'd just made her situation into one of two options: self-loathing if she risked her neck to save him or a bad day if the punk died. She exhaled. Maybe even worse than a bad day.

Turning toward the chaos, she muttered to herself, 'I can't believe I'm doing this.'

The woman clasped her hands to her chest. 'Oh, thank you!'

In answer, Sabine lunged at her and snapped her teeth. 'In no way am I doing this for your thanks.' Then she carried on. So stupid . . . so bloody stupid.

Yes, Sabine had the ability to talk to animals.

But what if the big bastard didn't want to chat?

'I . . . didn't remember,' Rydstrom told Durinda. And I still don't. But Sabine had voiced her suspicion of exactly this, and he'd vehemently denied it. Which meant he'd unintentionally lied to